A Guest post by Liz Thackray - Nürnberg Pen Show 2025/Cleo Skribent

Nürnberg Pen Show is a show I have been meaning to get to - a good opportunity to see German, particularly vintage, fountain pens! Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it in 2025, but fellow member of the FPUK Facebook group, Liz Thackray, very kindly agreed to provide a write up of her visit to the show and to the Cleo Skribent factory too! Over to you Liz, with many thanks (any typos are solely my error!):

“3 weeks in Germany and a big Birthday!

I lived in Germany in the 1990s and in recent years have holidayed there. Generally for 2-3 weeks, visiting regions that are new to us and returning to old haunts. This year I had a special mission in mind. I would be celebrating my 3/4 century and had been given an open cheque to treat myself to one or more new pens - building on a previous year where I had gifted myself a German pen made in Germany. This year was a quest for one or more fountain pens from less well known makers.

The opening gambit was the Nürnburg pen Show. First obstacle - getting there - the taxi driver had to ring his base to find the location, even though the hotel had assured us it was a well known venue! The show was located in a large room that formed part of a vintage car museum. For me, the next obstacle was getting into the room as I struggle with stairs - and the room was down 5 steps - but good hand-rail. This show has no entry charge and is sponsored by Kaweco, a company based in Nürnburg. At the bottom of the stairs, I was greeted and given a bag with a pack of Kaweco ink cartridges in 10 different colours - I don’t usually use cartridges but this was a useful gift as I had taken a Kaweco Sport on holiday and suspected it would need a fresh drink during my stay.

I had arranged to meet Phillip Landsiedell of Landsiedell Fine Writing in order to see a pen I had identified as a possible purchase - Jan Zander’s Cocoon. This pen is unusual in having a full leather jacket. Phillip was able to show me his pen and allowed me to write with it. I loved it, but it was not the right time for a big purchase – and his pen was not for sale. So will be ordering shortly now I am back in the UK.

Nürnburg PenShow is not big - it is really very small. Almost all the stalls were vintage pens and there was a strong presence of vintage Pelicans and Montblancs, alongside some artisan makers. There was a sense that many people knew each other. I got to speak to a few people and handle a few pens, but my main objective was achieved and we returned to our hotel in an Uber after enjoying a drink in the small beer garden in front of the entrance to the show.

The next stop on our trip was Dresden., I had not been able to identify an appropriate shop there, but not far away was Leipzig and “Schreib & Stil”. I had been in touch, and had arranged to see a Waldmann pen that had caught my eye online. The pen was even nicer than I had anticipated, but unfortunately not with the nib I wanted. Even more unfortunate, the company does not ship to the UK - another effect of Brexit. However, the service was good and I really wanted to buy a pen - and a German made pen! I mentioned my interest in Cleo Skribent and I was shown a simple white pen and loved it. It was not long before I left the shop with that pen and complementary gift of a bottle of Graf von Faber Castell turquoise ink. Given I had only spent a fraction of the amount I might have spent, that was amazing service, especially as I am unlikely to be a returning customer! Hopefully I can order the Waldmann from another dealer back in the UK.

Our next destination - and one I was really looking forward to - was Schwerin, the state capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in North East Germany. A visit was planned to a small village, Bad Wilsnack, a short train journey to the South. Bad Wilsnack is the home of Cleo Skribent, a company formed in the early twentieth century, important in. the Soviet era, and now an equally important family based firm, which claims to be one of the few manufactures of fountain pens, manufacturing solely in its own premises – and doing so in this tiny town most people have never heard of. It offers a lifetime warranty on all its pens. Having found our way to Bad Wilsnack, we soon found the old school building, the home of the company, and knocked on the door. Although our visit was not pre-arranged, we were given a warm welcome. When it was realised that I could not manage the steps into the building, a table and chairs were set up in the shade in the grass area behind the building and I was shown the box of pens - all inked and ready for action. What better way to spend a warm May Day than sitting in a garden with such a selection box. The golden brown pen, made from a wood which I later learned was used by Rolls Royce in their cars, quickly caught my eye and writing with it was a pure delight. Another box appeared the ebonite collection - and an intriguing deep pink and black pen leapt into my hands - appropriately named Versuvius.I left Wilsneck with a warmth inside me, clutching a bag containing 2 pens of a quality that rivals any other German manufacturer of quality pens. A good holiday”

Thanks again Liz - a great narrative of a wonderful experience - and a belated happy birthday!

Pictures from Nürnburg Pen Show 2025

Pictures from Cleo Skribant manufacture